Anchor



July 4, 1961 Q R, CHARD 2,990,800

ANCHOR Filed Feb. 15, 1959 Hr rofP/Yf xs.

United States. Patent 2,990,800 ANCHOR 'Clifford R. Chard, 1307 Lincoln Ave., New Castle, Ind. Filed Feb. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 793,097 3 Claims. (Cl. 114-208 This invention relates to an anchor, and more particularly to an anchor having a plurality of collapsible liukes held in extended position by a locking member adapted to be released by pull on a liexible release line extending from the anchor. Heretofore, it has been the general practice in such anchors to connect the release line directly to the locking member, an arrangement which is satisfactory only so long as the release line extends from the anchor in approximate alignment with the direction of locking-member movement. Even then, the pull exerted on the line to effect release of the locking member must exceed the resistance to locking-membermovement; and in some anchors, such as those in which load on the linkes imposes a load on the locking member, the resistance to releasing movement of the locking member may be so great as to require an objectionably large pull on the release line before the locking member can be released.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an anchor of the type above described with a lockingmember releasing means which will lower the releaseline pull required to release the locking member and which will be effective largely independently of the direction in which the release line extends from the anchor.

^ The preferred form of anchor incorporating my invention includes an elongated shank carrying piyotally mounted liukes at its lower end. In their collapsed position, such liukes hang downwardly in general alignment with the shank. Mounted within the shank is a longitudinally slidable locking member which is spring-pressed downwardly and which is provided at its lower end with a plug. At their inner ends, the liukes have noses which, in the extended or operative position of the liukes, bear on the sides of the plug below the pivotal axes of the liukes, whereby when the plug is positioned between the noses the liukes will be prevented from swinging downwardly into collapsed position. To release the liukes, the locking member is moved upwardly in the shank to withdraw the plug from itsposition between the liukenoses, thereby permitting the ilukes to swing downwardly into their collapsed position.

- i ln incorporating the present invention in ananchor of the type Vjust described, the lockinglmember is arranged to project upwardly beyond the upper end of the shank and is there provided with an enlarged head. Between such head and the upper end of the shank thereis received a release lever having an opening for the passage of the locking member and projecting laterally from the shank. Preferably, the release lever is L-shaped, having one leg which lies against the upper face of the shank and a second leg which extends a distance downwardly along the shank. At its lower end, such second leg is provided with an eyelet or other means for connecting the lever to a flexible release line. Pull on the release line causes the lever to fulcrum against the upper end face of the shank and raises the locking member to permit release of the liukes.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention. In such drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, of an anchor embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the anchor shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of a pivotal liuke connection; and

g 38, and is provided with FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the anchor shown in FIG. 1, but showing said anchor in collapsed position.

The anchor illustrated in the drawing comprises an elongated metal Shank 10 having a generally liattened upper face 12 and an eyelet 14 for connecting the shank to a boat by means of a line 16. Conveniently, the shank 10 has a tapered configuration, tapering-outwardly from its upper end toward the crown portion 118.

Formed within the shank 10 is an axially extending bore 20, shouldered as at 22. A rod 24 is axially movable within the bore 20 and is provided at its upper end with an expanded head 26 disposed above the upper shank face 12. An L-shaped lever the upper end of the rod 24 and comprises a leg 30 interposed between the head :26 and the upper shank face 12, and a leg 32 extending downwardly along a side wall of the shank 10. Conveniently, an eyelet 34 is mounted on the legs 32 for interconnecting the lever Z8, and thus the rod 24, to a boat by means of a line 36. A plug 38 is iixedly secured to the lower end of the rod 24 for axial movement with said rod within the shank bore 20. 'I'he plug 3S is biased toward the shank crown 118 by a spring 40 interposed between the upper face of the plug 38 and the bore shoulder 22.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, two pairs of opposed liukes 42 and 44 are pivotally mounted on the shank 10 adjacent its lower end. Although any desired number of liukes of any convenient size may be employed, I prefer to use two pairs of liukes with each pair having a different width. .As shown, the pair of liukes 42 are Wider than the pair of liukes 44 to provide alternately broad and narrow liukes extending outwardly from the shankv ythe bottom of the shank with the faces of the opposed ilukes being disposed in a substantially parallel relationship.

Each of the liukes comprises a plate 46 rigidly supported on an arm 52. The inner end of each of the arms 52 is received in a slot 54 extending upwardly from the base of the shank crown 118. As illustrated in FIG. 2, I provide two such intersecting slots 54 normal to each other and formed in the shank crown 18. The arms 52 are pivotally mounted on the shank 10 by pins S6. To this end, a .vertically extending groove 58 is formed in the shank 10 on each side of each of the slot openings 54 to permit the pins to be easily inserted through openings formed .in the shank and the inner ends of the liuke arms 52. The inner end of each of the arms 52 extends into the bore 20 in the path of movement-of the plug the sides of a nose 60 engageable with said plug for holding the liukes in extended position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The anchor is illustrated in FIG. l in its operative position in which the iiu'kes 42 and 44 are extended for engaging and catching on the bottom or objects disposed on the bottom. To collapse the liukes into the position shown in FIG. 4 so that they will not catch on any such objects and thereby permit the anchor to be raised easily the line 36 is pulled upwardly. As this lifting force is first applied to the line 36, the member 28 fulcrums against the upper face 12 of the shank to provide a lever action against the head 26 of the rod 24 and move said rod upwardly with respect to the shank 10. Continued lifting eliort on the line 36 causes the member 28 to exert a direct lifting eli'ort on the head 26, moving the plug 38 upwardly within the shank bore 20 with the side walls of the plug sliding against the noses 60 on the linke arms 52 unt-il the bottom face of said plug reaches a 28 is loosely received on ldownward movement of the plug 33.

`position above the ,noses60,.thereby permitting the Vukes to pivot about the pins 56 collapsing the ukes into the position illustrated `in FIG. 4. In this collapsed position, the noses 60 are disposed against the side walls of the bore 20 and the uke plates :46 on the opposed ilukes are disposed in a substantially parallel relationship. After the ukes are collapsed, the anchor may be easily raised by pulling upwardly on the lines 16 and 36. Of course, when the ukes are not caught, the anchor may be raised by pulling upwardly on the lines 16 and 36 simultaneously. It is possible to raise anchor by pulling upwardly on just one of the lines, but this creates the possibility of the other line becoming fouled.

By employing a plurality of alternately arranged ilukes having broad and narrow faces, the u'kes can be collapsed into a compact position in which the narrow pair of flukes 44 are received between the wider pair of ilukes 42. This permits the lukes to be fully collapsed to form a downwardly extending extension of the shank of relatively small cross-section, thereby giving the collapsed anchor a streamlined appearance of relatively small crosssection along its entire length and thus reducing the possibility of the anchor being caught as it is raised.

It will be noted from the dotted-line showing of FIG. '3 that in the collapsed condition of the iiukes the noses 60 thereof lie within the bore 20 in a position to limit The downward force exerted by the spring 40 on the plug 38 and transmitted therethrough to the noses 60 tends to cause the ilukes to swing into their extended positions. However,

with the anchor in a vertical position the duke-extending -eiort exerted by the spring 40 is opposed by the weight vofthe ukes, and if the anchor is lying on its side with the flukes collapsed, such {luke-extending tendency is opposed by the weight of the entire anchor, since no uke could move into extended position without engaging the supporting surface and raising the entire anchor. If the downward effort exerted by the spring 40 is not suicient to raise the flukes into extended position when the anchor is held in a vertical position by the rope 16 preparatory to dropping anchor, the resistance of the water to downward movement of the anchor when the rope 16 is released will exert on the liukes a nuke-extending eiort which, added to the effect of the spring 40, will permit the lukes to swing into fully extended position and the plug 38 to drop between the noses 60 and hold the ukes extended until, as described above, the plug 38 is retracted by pulling on the line 36.

I claim as my invention:

1. A collapsible anchor, comprising an elongated shank having a longitudinally extending bore, a plurality of tlukes pivotally mounted on said shank near the lower end thereof and swingablehetween extended, generally radial positions and collapsed positions in which they extend downwardly generallyfparallel to the shank, a locking member slidable in said bore, a spring urging said locking member downwardly, each of said ukes having a nose which in the extended'position of the ukes engages the side ofthe locking member exteriorly at a point below the rpivotal axis of the iluke, whereby the presence of the looking member between the fluke-noses will prevent the ukes from swinging to collapsed condition, said locking member being movable upwardly against the effort of said spring to clear said noses `and permit the ukes to move to collapsed position, said locking member projecting upwardly through the upper end of said shank and being there provided with a head, and a release lever loosely mounted on said locking member beneath said head and normally clamped between the head and the upper end of the shank by said spring, one cud of said lever projecting outwardly beyond said shank and adapted for attachment to a release line.

2. An anchor asset forth in claim l with the addition that said lever is L-shaped and arranged with its projecting end extending downwardly parallel to the shank.

3. A collapsible anchor, comprising an elongated shank having a longitudinally extending bore, a plurality of ukes pivotally mounted on said shank near the lower end thereof and swingable between extended, generally radial positions and collapsed positions in which they extend downwarly generally parallel to the shank, locking means for releasably retaining said ilukes in extended condition, said locking means including a locking member slidable in said bore, a spring urging said Ilocking member downwardly Vinto 'an operative position where it maintains the ilukes in extended positions, said locking member projecting through the upper end of said shank and being there provided with a head, and a release 'lever loosely mounted on said shank and adapted to be clamped between the shank and said head by the action of said spring, one end of said lever projecting outwardly beyond said shank and being there adapted for attachment to a release line.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 363,579 Best May 24, 1887 1,782,449 Siebert Nov. 25, 1930 2,402,202 Norton June 18, 1946 2,674,970 Andrews Apr. 13, 1954 2,687,107 Evans Aug. 24, 1954 2,851,983 Hrivnyak Sept. 16, 1958 2,874,668 Bailey Feb. 24, 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No,V 2,990,800 i July 4, 1961 I Cliffordn. Chard It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numberedpetent requiring correction and that the seid Letters Patent should read as corrected below.-

Column 2,l line 54, strike out "the sides of." and inserft the same after "with", in line 55l same column.

Signed 'and sealed this 5thv day of December' 1961.y

( SEA L) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attest'i'ng Officer I Commissioner of Patents 

